Practical Photography - UK (2020-02)

I’mfascinatedby bokeh,lens

flareand starburst.Howcan

I guaranteeto seethese

in-camera effects in my shots?

Sarah Goff, Leicestershire

Tim says: Lens effects are one of those

wonderful blends of science and art

that photography does so well. Without

gettingintoanythingreallycomplex

intermsof explanations,it’sworth

understandingthattheseeffectsare

a productof thewaythatlensesareput

to getherandhowlightmovesbetween

• and is internallyreflectedby – the
  variouspiecesof glassandmetalparts
  ofthelens.As such,theyarevery
  muchaffectedby choiceof lensdesign,
  aperture,focallengthandlighting.

Bokeh

Bokehis recognisedas theartisticwayin

whicha lensrendersout-of-focuspoints

oflight.Gettingbokehis quiteeasy– you

needa lenswitha wideaperture,setto

it s smallestf/number,anda backdrop

withsomehighlightsin it (fairylights

are alwaysa winner).Theout-of-focus

highlightsgiveyouyourbokeh.The

‘q uality’of thebokehis downto thelens

• primelensescreatemuchbetterbokeh
  thanzooms,andlenseswithround
  aperturebladesarguablymakenicer
  bokehthanthosewithstraightblades.

Flare

Flareis producedby internalreflections

inthelens,as lightbouncesaroundthe

variouspiecesof glassthatmakeup

yourlens.Manufacturerstryto limit

flareby coatingthelensglasswith

anti-reflectivechemicals,but pointing

a cameratowardsa strongsourceof light

• suchas thesun– shouldstillproduce
  flare.Youcanaddflarewhenyou’renot
  fa cingthesunby reflectinglightintothe
  le nswitha shinyobject,suchas a CD,
  heldcloseto thefrontelementof the
  le nsandangledto directthelight.

St arburst

Starbursteffectscanbe producedwith

specialisedfilters,butyourlenscan

createthemnaturallyviainternal

di ffraction.All youneedis a small

aperturesetting– ideallyaroundf/22

• and a strongsourceof light.Often
  ni ght-timeurbanscenescanreallybe
  enhancedwithstarbursteffectsfrom
  brightlights.

Above & left Starburst and lens flare effects

need a bright light source in front of the lens.

AboveBokehshapeandsizeis affected

bylensdesignandtheapertureused.

Know Your Stuff

Is there a guaranteed

way to get lens effects?

Withphonecamerasnow

capableof takingreally

goodpictures,do we

st ill need‘proper’cameras?

BrianChadwick,Preston

Adamsays:Yoursis a question

th atmustkeepmanycamera

manufacturersawakeat night!It’s

a tr uismthatthebestcamerayou

haveis theoneyou havewithyou,

and,as we all carryphonesthese

days,it is inevitablethatmostof

ustakethemajorityof ourshots

ona smartphone.Indeed,phones

haveeffectivelykilledoff thebasic

compactcameramarket– though

th ere’sstilla placeforthe‘tough’

modelsandthemorehigh-endkit

wi thlargersensorsandpremium

br andnameson them.

But whilephonecameras

continueto improve,noneof them

ri val‘real’camerasin termsof the

qualityof output,andtheystill

don’tdelivertherangeof user

controlthata DSLRorCSCcan

of fer.Interchangeablelenses,

fu ll controlovershutterspeed,

apertureandISO,longexposures

• th esearenotoptionson most
  phones.Therearebenefitsto
  beingableto shoot,theninstantly
  edit andshareshotswhenon the
  go,butfortheseriousshooter,
  th ereisn’tyet
  a smartphone
  outthere
  that’s good
  enoughto
  replacea
  DSLRor CSC.

BOKEH

STARBUST FLARE

Why not just

shoot on your

smartphone?

SUPPARSORN WANTARNAGON

JOHN REES

78 PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY